This invention relates to cooking equipment and in particular to a cooking appliance that includes a griddle plate for grilling food products such as meat patties, eggs, bacon, sausage links, potatoes and the like.
Conventional griddle plates are made from steel or cast iron and are heated by means of tubular sheathed elements as, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,315. The heating elements are maintained in contact with the underside of the griddle plate by a clamping system to maximize heat transfer and prevent over heating of the heating elements. The clamping system involves a substantial and often complex metal fabrication that adds cost and weight to the cooking appliance. The clamping system is secured to the griddle plate by a rather large number of studs that are screwed into holes or welded on to the griddle plate. This also adds cost and weight to the cooking appliance.
Another disadvantage of the conventional griddle plate heating system is that upon initial warming and heat recovery after placement of cool food products on the griddle, there is more heat transfer at the points of heating element contact than at other areas of the griddle plate. This leads to uneven griddle plate cooking surface temperatures. An uneven cooking surface temperature, in the form of localized hot and cool spots, affects the quality of the food products being grilled.
A thermal insulating material is used below the heating elements to maintain efficient heat transfer and prevent heat from affecting nearby components, controls or structures. The insulating material, if not contained, can be an environmental hazard to users of the cooking appliance. A container for the insulation is an added cost.
The present invention provides an improved cooking appliance that is relatively simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture versus the heavy, labor intensive grills of the prior art.
Moreover, the present invention provides an improved cooking appliance that provides a uniform distribution of heat over the entire surface of a griddle plate which overcomes the uneven heat distribution associated with the heating elements used in conventional grills.
A cooking appliance according to the present invention comprises a heating assembly for heating a griddle plate. The heating assembly includes a non-contact infrared heating element disposed within the assembly such that there is a space between the heating element and the griddle plate.
In other embodiments according to the present invention, the heating assembly includes a container having a cavity with the heating element being disposed within the cavity. Preferably, the cavity is formed by thermal insulating material. The container is formed of a base and a wall.
In one preferred embodiment according to the invention, the infrared heating element is secured to the insulating material by staples.
In another embodiment according to the present invention, the cooking appliance includes a lower platen and a positioning mechanism, each mounted to a housing. An upper platen is mounted to the positioning mechanism. The positioning mechanism is operable to move the upper platen between a cooking and a non-cooking position with respect to the lower platen. A heating assembly is provided to heat the lower platen. The heating assembly includes a non-contact infrared heating element disposed within the assembly such that there is a space between the heating element and the lower platen.